Julianna Forsyth
Senior Engagement Lead - Risk Consulting
Our 2026 UK Business Risk Report, identified compliance, legal and regulatory risks as the number three concern with 40% of UK businesses expressing concern.
New rules are the biggest concern
Perhaps not surprisingly, the introduction of new rules or legislation has taken top spot, cited as a worry by 32% of business leaders. However, despite issues such as the Employment Rights Act 2025 passing into law and a change of focus for the HSE, this is less of a concern than it was two years ago (34%).
Similarly, fewer UK business leaders pointed to “traditional” risks in this area than did so two years ago. Health and safety, the top risk in 2024, is down to third place, having fallen by two percentage points. Similarly, a slightly smaller percentage of businesses expresses concern about employment law risks than in 2024 (24% versus 27%).
Trade tariff worries fading?
It is also interesting to note that, despite featuring heavily in the news, trade tariffs are less of a concern than they were two years ago, having fallen out of the top five risks and being cited by 21% of businesses, down from 22%. We can only speculate as to why, but it seems possible that the trade deal signed between the UK and the US in May 2025, and which limited tariffs between the two countries, has played a role here.
Businesses wary of National Insurance rise
One major shift in this area, however, is around “changes to tax and National Insurance (NI)” - almost a third (30%) identified this as a key risk, making it the second most significant compliance and operational concern among business leaders.
Clearly, this is in direct response to changes in government policy, which saw employer contributions rise to 15%, though it is worth noting here that the vast majority (70%) do not consider the change to NI a significant risk.
Catch up on our compliance, legal and regulatory risks update
Julianna Forsyth, Growth and Engagement Leader - Risk Consulting UK, provides an update on the UK regulatory risk landscape.
Managing compliance, legal and regulatory risks
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